Where this sampler goes in ways of new bands, I can’t help but feel immensely ecstatic to immerse myself in all that they have to offer as well as the immense pleasure of seeing some names that I recognize from years prior including. It’s in that selection that we are given a glorious tapestry of all that this label is still able to offer us without repeating from last year’s sampler even with some selections from 2021 albums like Wombbath’s “Agma”, Imperialist’s “Zenith”, and Replicant’s “Malignant Reality”, but it is everything else that shows us a new band or, at the very least, brand new material that we’ve never heard before. With 2022’s, there’s an undeniable flow to the entire sampler with each track pouring itself right into the next no matter what style we’re talking about here as the death metal transforms into uncompromising black metal that morphs spectacularly into experimental, atmospheric, and haunting varieties of death metal that quickly become schizophrenic grind to then bring things right to a halt with the immense power and patient malevolence of doom and sludge.

It’s become a true craft and hallmark of Transcending Obscurity at this point to release a boast of a sampler at the start of the year, and it’s with each subsequent one that they’ve shown another side to the label as well as the finesse of crafting a gripping compilation that isn’t simply a showcase of one track after another. Now, that’s a fun statement for me to say in regards to this sampler being one of the best simply because it feels like every new one is “the best one”. With their latest being the 2022 sampler, I would dare since this is on par to be one of their very best yet if not the very best. At the start of every year for some time now, they’ve released a label sampler showcasing just some of the new material that we as listeners can expect to experience in the near future with the roster from Transcending Obscurity seemingly always getting more impressive, the releases even more bombastic, and the quality simply undeniable. Since then, my relationship with the label, the bands that it’s brought to my attention, and the music itself have quite literally changed my life and the palette of music that I find myself immersed in to this very day, and it warms my heart to really see the label getting the attention it deserves with every worthy addition to their roster getting the proper respect, reception, and enjoyability from people all around the world.

Of all of the very conscious decisions that I make in that regard, one of my biggest ones is the following of Transcending Obscurity Records who I’ve never once been shy about showing my love of ever since I first discovered the Indian label back in 2014 with the release for The Dead’s “Deathsteps to Oblivion”. Anyone who knows anything about me and my listening habits knows that there are a few constants that I always find myself adhering to when it comes to my listening habits whether it be subconsciously or very on purpose, as is the case with everyone I’d say.

Transcending obscurity